The Dead Of Pendor
by Crucified Sanctity
Summary: Not quite the same but I based it on the Earthsea trilogy. I was 11 at the time of writing this. Dedicated to Kim


The Dead of Pendor  
  
Haltar stood with a huge obsidian staff clutched in his hand, his long nails digging into the soft skin on the other side of his hand. Penash swooped down, the dragons veiny wings were torn and ragged, his black head was covered with the poisonous blood of dragons. He hissed in the guttural tongue of his people " I have fought Messaniet." He wheezed as he looked around nervously.  
  
" Do you not like the land of the dead?" asked Haltar without looking around "They make me ....... nervous."  
  
The blank faces of the dead stared at Haltar and Penash with unhidden malice.  
  
"Why do they hate so much Haltar" asked Penash "We have something they had but lost.Life.But that does not concern us now. We must see to the arrangements for our friend Orm Embar."  
  
Orm Embar held his yew-wood staff in his hand while a golden dragon padded along beside him. Orm Embar stooped and sighed. The wind brushed the grass underneath with its invisible hand.  
  
"Kalessin where can I find the land of the dead?" said the young man in his low voice "Over the wall of the living is a city by the name of Felucca. There you will find the two you look for." "Kalessin you know me too well."  
  
That night Orm Embar slept in an orchard. The luscious red apples reflected the silvery light of the moon. Suddenly Orm Embar's eyes snapped open, "Who is there?" A cloud slid over the moon, Orm was plunged into darkness. A darkness blacker than the night was under the tree opposite him. It reached out with a shadowy hand. Orm raised his staff in defence. The beast stopped and stood shimmering awhile... then continued his slow progress toward Orm. Orm tried to move but he was paralysed with fear. The creature grabbed onto Orm and held. It raised two tallonned limbs and scratched Orm's face once, twice and a third time. Suddenly a huge swirling flame smashed into the creature releasing its grip on Orm and the immobile Orm slumped to the floor. Where the flame had hit the shadowy life form a new skin had formed. It started to advance toward Kalessin. It stopped and cocked its head to the side as if hearing something from far away. Then with a heart-rending wail it disintegrated into a pile of what looked like ashes and then even they disintegrated. Kalessin ran toward his colleague. He found him as a heap on the floor, black blood ran from huge gashes on his body. Kalessin picked him up in his gaping mouth and flew toward the once well known school of Roke. When Kalessin finally arrived he bounded toward the herbalist. Once he got there the herbalists only words were, "Leave him on that bench, I'll see to him when he needs it." "HE NEEDS IT NOW!" "If you wish to question my medical prowess then go right ahead but I warn you I have been a herbalist for close to 30 years now and I believe I know a bit about the art of healing a man." snarled the old herbalist.  
  
Kalessin was silent as the herbalist hobbled toward his study and continued his work. After about an hour or so he came back in and applied a bandage to the largest wound which ran down Orm's face and chest then he went back to his research. After a day or so Kalessin was still by Orm's bedside when the herbalist entered. "Persistent little dragon aren't you." "So I have been told." "Well then let us see if young Orm is OK"  
  
The herbalist hobbled over to Orm's bedside and removed the bandages. "Yes your friend is making a good recovery, do you think it is time to awaken him?" "Yes" The herbalist crushed a small leaf and put it under Orm's nose, Orm woke up. "Where am I, Is that foul creature still after us, How long have I been here?" "All those questions can be answered, if you just calm down." All questions were answered and Orm seemed to be happy. "I seem to be the only one with grave news. You were attacked by, errrrrm... for lack of a better word ... a ghost.", mumbled the herbalist tripping over the word "ghost". "Kalessin we must end this evil now before it gets out of hand." Without another word they departed and got into a small boat. As they sailed Orm's mind was not in the rickety shell of a small boat but instead on the fields of Felucca.  
  
The desolate wasteland stretched away endlessly. Row upon row of the dead stood. Their eyes were always open - unblinking, unloving and uncaring. He then saw a living thing, a living man. His dark cloak brushed against the black floor, where his obsidian staff hit the floor a small crater was left in the dust. "So Haltar I have finally found where you have been hiding all these years." "Not hiding, waiting for you!" "You will wait a little longer." "Yes we cannot do battle on the fields of Felucca."  
  
Suddenly Orm woke up. "Kalessin we must head for the isle at the end of the world, Tehanu." "Yes Orm you have been steering us there in your sleep, we are almost there." On the horizon an isle stood out, getting bigger and bigger until they arrived and set foot on the island. They stood on the edge and stared at the two silhouettes on the horizon. "So Haltar we are to do battle now." "So it is deemed in the book of destiny Orm." "So Kalessin you have noticed the fall of the dragon race, we are the only two left of our once proud race." A smile curved onto Penash's lips. The two dragons soared into the air belching flame at each other and biting at each others feet. "Well Haltar as our dragons have started so we will as well." "AR HIOK FULTAR MAKTAY" Haltar chanted summoning something from the nether regions. A cloud slid over the pale sun and a pool of darkness vaguely resembling the shape of a knight on a horse sat in front of Orm. "So there was a pale rider atop a pale horse and the horse's name was Pestilence and the rider's name was Death." "Very perceptive Orm but not quite accurate, the riders name is Orm Embar's Death!" Orm felt as if a huge lump of ice was being forced down his throat. "I will not call him to attack till you have summoned something."  
  
Kalessin bit through the many tendons in Penash's arm severing it and leaving it to fall to the floor. Both dragons were exhausted but both wanted the other dead so the battle continued. Then both savagely bit each other in the neck. As they both fell to the floor drowning in their own blood they knew that the dragon race had been destroyed. With one last sigh both died in the same instant leaving their blood on the floor staining it to black.  
  
"ADAHAN HYDRAXIUS FALSHIITH." A large blackish red hydra appeared in front of Orm its many heads screeching incoherently. "Orm Embar's death, charge at Orm Embar and run him through with the sword of secrets." "Balduvian hydra tear Haltar in half and grab my death." As one of the hydra's heads whipped out toward Death it wailed as it slipped through thin air and hit the ground. But the heads assigned to kill Haltar did not miss. Instead they grabbed him up and started fighting over who was to have him, tearing him to pieces in the process. Even as this was happening, Orm felt the cold bite of steel as it smashed through his ribs and tore open his still beating heart. Then the two monsters vanished leaving no trace. The black blood of dragons mingled with the red blood of humans as it ran into the sea.  
  
On the fields of Felucca the two blank faces of Haltar and Orm stare at nothing. Their eyes are always open unblinking, unloving and uncaring. 


End file.
